Phamous Phil's BBQ & Grille adds breakfast and more

LOWER PROVIDENCE — Baby back ribs and blueberry pancakes all under the same roof?

Yes, and French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers too.

Since man does not live by pulled pork alone, Phamous Phil’s BBQ & Grille has recently introduced weekend breakfasts, as well as some compatible additions to the Southern-inspired menu that launched the smokin’ sensation of Evansburg three years ago.

Pit master Phillip Schmidt figured that in reviving a bit of the roots of the place, maybe some of the breakfast crowds from the old Evansburg Country Kitchen and Deeg’s Place would come in and join his hardcore ‘cue regulars for some hearty fare on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

“I realized that around here there’s really no place for breakfast, so I thought this would be a good way to get people in the door,” said Schmidt, a Lower Providence native who runs the restaurant with his wife Robin. “We’re trying to draw people in with things besides barbecue.”

Barbecue buffs and all others may revel in a deceptively simple breakfast menu that features eggs, home fries, and a homemade hash mélange of prime rib, brisket, potatoes and peppers (a la carte, $2.50), though it’s probably just the former who will go for the pulled pork or pulled chicken BBQ side meat option for their morning meal.

But make no bones about it, the guy observed grabbing one of Phamous Phil’s barbecue sauces — as handily provided as salt and pepper here, no matter the time of day — and earnestly squirting his omelet with the stuff is as devoted a BBQ fiend as you’re likely to find.

More often than not, early birds and not-so-early-birds (breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to noon) come back for lunch and dinner, Schmidt said.

“As soon as they see the menu, they say, ‘we didn’t know you had steaks and salmon here. The north isn’t really into barbecue that much,” he added. “They think of pulled pork and ribs, and that’s it. They don’t think about some of the other things we have on the menu, like the smoked prime rib and fish.”

Tempting palates with homemade offerings is the only way Schmidt and his two new chefs, Jeff and Carlos, know how to operate, said Schmidt, who mastered his craft in authentic style during a stay in Tennessee several years ago.

“They’re like nothing you’ve ever had in your life,” said Schmidt, a certified competition judge and a recent tenth-place winner in American Royal’s Barbecue Sauce contest, out of 1,100 contestants, for his Carolina Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce.

As the menu continues to evolve, the kitchen can’t help making a well-known Italian dish “phamously” its own: Penne Pasta Carbonara, which is served with choice of pork or chicken BBQ or brisket.

Thursdays are getting known for New York Strip Steak ($16.99), hand cut to order.

“We cut a slice off the strip and then cook it, so it’s not something sitting around in a vacuum bag,” Schmidt said.

Meanwhile, a string of Best of Montco nods and word of mouth continue to attract many barbecue regionalists — and even a few folks from the around the corner who just recently discovered the BYOB Phamous Phil’s via some up-against-it Googling one afternoon.

“It was a Saturday, and a guy called and said he had a party of nine and it was his son’s birthday and they wanted ribs,” Schmidt recalled. “He Googled ‘ribs’ and said ours came up as the best around.”

As it happened, the gang had hopes of landing a table at a well-known chain restaurant in Oaks in the Target/Arnold’s/Expo Center belt, but were told they were looking at an hour and a half wait.

“He asked if we could seat them and I told him to come right over,” Schmidt said. “When they were done eating they said it was the best they ever had, and now they’re back every week. They live in Collegeville and never knew we were here. But it’s upsetting to me they would go to a chain hamburger restaurant for ribs when we have a reputation as making the best ribs anywhere.”